


No Regrets

by NobodyKnowsWhoIAM



Series: Max [4]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Being Big, Blankets, Bossy Older Sibilings, Daddy & Little Boy, Family Gatherings, Found Family, Gen, Non-Sexual Age Play, Pacifiers, Siblings raising siblings, Uncle & Little Boy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-24
Updated: 2020-07-24
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:29:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,803
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25478449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NobodyKnowsWhoIAM/pseuds/NobodyKnowsWhoIAM
Summary: Britton and Clint's older sister comes to visit.  Max has to be Big.  It's a stressful situation for the whole household.
Relationships: Britton & Angela, Britton & Clint, Britton & Max, Daddy & Max, Uncle Clint & Max
Series: Max [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1697317
Kudos: 16





	No Regrets

Max had known this day was coming for a long time. Two months to be exact. But just because he’d known about it, just because it had been written on the large dry erase calendar for 60 days, didn’t make it any easier to process. Daddy and Uncle Clint’s sister was coming to visit today. 

No, Britt and Clint. Britton and Clinton’s older sister was coming to the house to visit. 

Max was stressed, to say the least.

Unfortunately, he wasn’t allowed to process this stress in his normal way today. He had to be Big for this meeting. Angela wasn’t aware of the lifestyle that her siblings had taken on. As far as she knew, or more accurately assumed, her two younger brothers had simply rented out the extra bedroom in their house. They just never confirmed or denied her assumptions.

The three men had been slowly working on aging Max back up over the past week. They’d tried before to just go cold turkey cut off on the little space, but it had caused a lot of unnecessary stress and tears from everyone. They had quickly thrown that plan away and started a slower, more gradual approach. 

It started last Sunday, with Max and Clint going through the house and picking up all the pacifiers. Max was allowed to have only one, clipped to his shirt so he didn’t lose it, and all the rest were cleaned and safely stored in their plastic bin on the shelf in his closet. He also had to leave his blanket in his room. That was probably the most challenging for Max. He loved being able to rub his blanket across his face. It was just so soft!

While the two tackled the Great Pacifier Hunt, Britton started storing the more obvious things away. The sticker chart and prize basket on top of the fridge were temporarily relocated to the master bathroom along with Max’s stash of pull-ups, which were normally located under the hall bathroom sink. Max would still be able to wear the pull-ups since they fit under his Big clothes just fine. Britton wanted to be able to provide Max with at least some comfort during this time. He knew the boy was stressed and in the awful cycle of not being able to fall back on his normal coping skill but also being worried about accidentally falling back into little space when Angela was here.

On Monday, after his afternoon nap, Max had to leave his pacifier in his room with his blanket. His main goal today was to work on calling his daddy Britton and leaving the Uncle off of Clint’s name. Likewise, Britton and Clint had to work hard to remember to call the boy Max instead of Maxie. 

Tuesday was the cut off day for sippy cups. These were all washed and stored safely in Max’s closet next to his pacifier bin. Max also had to start wearing awful jeans today. After an emotional explosion about why he hated jeans and how they felt and rubbed and were just awful, Max had to listen while Britton explained why jeans were the best option for now. Reason one, they covered the pull-up better. Britton and Max went on a special shopping trip to look for jeans that were comfortable enough for Max to wear and also covered the pull-up. They celebrated their success with ice cream from Max’s favorite Mom and Pop ice cream shop.

Reason two for the jeans was the belt that Britton had bought just for Max. It was reversible; one side was just plain black, but the other had pictures of lions, and tigers, and other big cats on it. Max thought it was super cool just for that reason. Britton thought it would help keep Max’s hands from wandering beneath his pull-up when he was inevitably overwhelmed when Angela came. Max usually did okay with his alternate forms of de-escalation when he was Big, but he was more than okay with having his jeans be a little tighter if it meant avoiding possible self-embarrassment. They spent Wednesday practicing fastening and unfastening the belt so that Max would feel comfortable enough to do it on his own. There were a few wet pull-ups, but by Thursday, he had the belt down pat.

Thursday was the first day Max spent in full Big mode, from morning to night. Britton and Clint noticed a drop in his energy after lunch during what would normally be nap time. They had anticipated this and had an action movie ready to go. If Max dozed off during a movie, no harm done. Adults do that all the time, especially after eating a meal.

Friday was much the same as Thursday, just a little more frantic. The house was checked again for anything that would seem out of place to Angela. Everyone had to do some breathing exercises at some point throughout the day. Last-minute shopping was done to get the things forgotten for tomorrow’s big lunch. They did one last group breathing exercise before going their separate ways for bed.

And then it was Saturday.

Britton woke up first. He went through his morning routine and then pulled Clint out of his bed. Clint, still firmly in the time of life where waking up before 10 on a Saturday is a crime, stumbled out of his room, and pouted his way into the hall bathroom. Britton laughed at his younger brother’s dramatics and went to get Max.

He knocked gently on the door and waited for the quiet “Come in,” before entering. Max was still curled up in his bed, wrapped tightly in his blanket, sucking furiously on his pacifier. Britton moved over to the bed and carefully started unwrapping the younger man. “Come on, Max. Time to get up. Clint’s in the hall bathroom, so you can use mine this morning.”

Max gave a small whine before pulling the pacifier out of his mouth and laying it on his pillow. He crawled out of bed and began to gather up his clothes for the day. Britton quickly made up the bed and folded Max’s blanket to put at the foot of the bed. His little boy might be Big today, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t still take care of him. He smoothed the blankets one last time and then headed toward the kitchen to whip up some breakfast for himself and the boys.

The morning had gone smoothly. Britton had made everyone omelets for breakfast. Clint had directed Max’s nervous attention towards the numerous video games in the living room and had successfully distracted him by challenging him to a tournament. It was a high stakes tournament, with the winner getting the rights to pick the movie for tonight's viewing. And if Clint just so happened to ‘accidentally’ press the wrong button a few times, and thus throw some of the races causing him to be the loser, well, no one would know but him. And probably Britton. But both would deny it.

The soft tones of the doorbell followed by three harsh knocks on the door jolted all three of the men. Britton heaved a sigh, wiped his palms on his knees, and stood from the couch before looking at the younger two still sprawled on the floor, controllers in hand. Max’s face was pale and his eyes wide. Clint paused their current game before looking up at his older brother. Britton could see the stress lines forming between his furrowed brows and a frown pulling at his lips. “I’ll get the door, you two clean up in here. Make sure the blankets get folded, not just thrown back over the chair. Clint, I’m looking at you.”

His joking tone worked to lighten the mood and both boys chuckled a little before moving to do as Britton had asked. Britton took another deep breath before opening the front door with a bright smile and a cheery hello for his older sister. “Angela! He--” He was brusquely pushed aside as Anglea powered her way through the door. “--llo. Nice to see you too.” He muttered under his breath before closing the door. “Just a few hours, Britton. You can do this for a few hours. The boys are counting on you.” With renewed energy from his pep talk, he followed his sister through the house to the kitchen where she had already established herself at the kitchen table.

“Britton, so good to see you again. It’s been too long. You’ve done some redecorating I see. Not sure those are the colors that I would have picked, but what I suppose that’s what happens when two men are living together with a woman around to provide that feminine touch to the household. Oh, excuse me. It’s three men now correct? You have taken on a roommate. Where is our little brother and your addition to the household? Surely not still in bed. I know Clint would waste away the day if he could. Always such a lump in the mornings that one.” She laughed dismissively as if she hadn’t just insulted her brothers and their home.

Britton blinked in the aftermath of the verbal onslaught. “Well, I guess we have done some work since the last time you were here, five years ago. Clint and I like the cool calming colors and think they look just fine. He and Max are around, I’m sure they’ll be dropping by in a minute.”

\---

Clint watched Max carefully as the two picked up the mess from their gaming morning. Max was taking deep breaths, very obviously trying to keep himself out of a panic attack. “Max, stop for a minute. Look at me.” Clint placed one hand on Max’s shoulder and did a few breaths with him. “It’s going to be okay. No matter what happens, Britton can handle Angela. He’s been doing it all his life. And this time he’s got us to help him out.”

Max huffed a laugh. “I can’t help.” He scuffed his shoe against the fluffy carpet. “I’m scared, Clint. I don’t want her to find out. I don’t want to leave!” He ran a shaking hand through his hair making it stick out in all directions.

“Don’t, don’t do that.” Clint flicked Max’s hand out of his hair and smoothed back into place. “Even if she does, there’s no way Britton is kicking you out. He cares too much about you to do that. Besides, I’d never allow that. This house is 50 percent mine you know.” Clint gave Max’s hand a reassuring squeeze. “Now let’s go do this.” He pulled Max behind him toward the kitchen.

\--

Britton smiled as he saw Clint gently drop Max’s hand as the two came into the kitchen. Thankfully, Angela was sitting with her back to the door connecting the living room and kitchen. She turned when she saw Britton’s expression change. “Oh, Clint. What are you wearing? Honestly, Britton, you let him dress like this?”

Clint looked down at his clothes. He was wearing his normal graphic tee under an unbuttoned plaid overshirt and a pair of blue jeans. “I’m wearing clothes that I bought. I am an adult and can make my own decisions.” He could feel Max trying to become invisible behind him. “So nice of you to grace us with your totally nonjudgmental presence, dearest sister,” he snarked.

Britton rolled his eyes, “Clint, enough. Angela, Clint is an adult, buys his clothes, and can wear whatever he wants.” He walked over to his little brother and mouthed “Knock it off.” He got a pout and an eye roll in response. Britton stepped behind Max and put his hands on the younger man’s tense shoulders. He gave them a gentle squeeze and felt Max relax an infinitesimal amount. “This is Max. Max, that’s our older sister Angela.”

“H-Hello. Nice to meet you.” Max’s words were barely louder than a whisper and he looked back at Britton for reassurance.

Angela sniffed haughtily. “Hmm. Yes. Well, at least you have some manners, although I would suggest a handshake to go along with your greeting. And you can dress reasonably well. A nice collared shirt goes a long way. Maybe you can teach Clinton some sort of fashion sense.”

As Max flushed and shrunk in on himself, Clint gently pushed him out of the kitchen. “Yeah. Whatever you say, Angie. Britt, we’ll be out back. Call us in for lunch?” He didn’t wait for a response before hustling Max out the back door.

“The lack of manners on that boy! He wasn’t disciplined nearly enough as a child. He’d have never gotten away with that kind of behavior in my house.”

“Angela, please,” Britton rubbed his temples. “Leave Clint alone. Let’s just get through lunch. Then we can say we saw each other, spent time together, and go on with our lives for the next five years.”

“Fine. What do we need for lunch?” She stalked over to the refrigerator and yanked the door open hard enough to rattle the condiment bottles stored inside.

“If you could get the green bowl out of the fridge and then set the table, that would be helpful. Thank you.”

\---

Max knew that his family life was less than ideal but he was shocked by the way Angela interacted with her brothers. Clint had always been a little bit snarky and sarcastic but never outright mean to Britton. The surprise must have shown on his face as he and Clint went to the back yard because Clint looped an arm around his shoulders. “Sorry, Max. Angela always brings out the worst in me. Britton says we prove the Birth Order theory whenever we get together. Unfortunately, that means Britton is stuck playing mediator, being the middle child and all.”

“She’s not very nice. Why does she have to come? What about phone calls? Then you could just hang up when she said something mean!” Max grinned as he thought of ways to avoid future visits. “Or! Or, or you could just write letters!”

Clint looked pained and sighed. “Yeah. That would certainly be a whole lot easier. We do it for our parents. For a while, after they died, Angela would come home once a year and we’d spend time together as a ‘family.’ It was okay for a while, we all got along okay. But then Angela started traveling overseas for her work instead of just all over the U.S. We started getting phone calls from her saying things like ‘There’s just no way I can make it this year,’ or ‘I have to go to whatever country and it’s going to be at least a two-year job.’ It was just easier to make it every five years.”

Max didn’t know what to say so he just nodded as he sat on the swing and slowly began pushing himself back and forth with his toes. It would be hard to maintain a close relationship with your siblings if you only saw them once every five years.

Clint plunked himself down on the end of the slide and laid back against it with a sigh. “I tell myself to polite. Kind of psych myself up for days before the actual meeting, but then when she shows up. It’s like all my self-control goes out the window. She knows exactly where to poke, you know? I don’t know how Britton does it. He’s got the patience of a saint or something.”

"Yeah, Britton's nice most of the time. He's never mad." He glanced at Clint who rolled his eyes. He had seen Britton upset many times. Max thought about it and smirked, "He says we annoy and," Max searched for the word, "frus-trate him all the time. He told me he worries about us a lot. But he's never angry. Never mean. Maybe…" Max glanced back down at his shoes.

“Maybe what, Max? What are you thinking?” Clint twisted to his side to look at Max more clearly. 

Max flicked his gaze up for a split second, making eye contact before speaking to his shoes again. “Maybe you just need to take some breaths before talking to Angela. Kinda like I have to do whenever we go anywhere outside the house, or people come to the house, or the routines change, or--” 

“Max, hey whoa.” Clint hopped off the slide and crouched in front of the almost hyperventilating boy. “It’s okay. It’s a good idea. I need you to follow your advice now. Deep, slow breath in. Hold. And out.” Clint coached Max through a couple more breaths before dropping back to sit in the grass.

They sat in relative quiet for a while, listening to the sounds of the back yard. The quiet creak of the swing chains, the twittering of the birds in the big shade tree, the chirping chorus of the crickets in the bushes by the fence. It was the exact amount of peacefully they needed right now.

The soothing atmosphere was shattered as the sliding glass door was opened rather aggressively, causing it to slip off its track. “Ugh! I hate this door! Britton, why haven’t you gotten this fixed yet? I’m looking up a handyman right now and having them come and fix it today! This is ridiculous!”

Clint rolled his eyes while keeping his back to the house. The door had been finicky forever. However, if you opened it gently, it stayed on the track easily. He started to tell Angela just that when he heard Britton’s polite “Excuse me,” followed but the click of the door settling back in its casement. “We don’t need a handyman, Angela. The door is on my list of things to fix, and in the meantime, it works well as an alarm if we were to ever get burgled. Takes practice to open it without popping it out.”

Max and Clint smirked at each other. The door had been on Britton’s to-do list for years. It was never going to get fixed and the three men were okay with that.

Angela shook her head at her brother before stepping to the end of the patio. “Lunch is ready now. Clint, you shouldn’t be sitting on the ground. You’re going to grass stain your jeans. And the bugs are going to be crawling all over you.” 

Clint stood up and brushed his jeans off. “Well, would you look at that! No grass stains or bugs! Do I get a gold star now?”

Angela pursed her lips at his sarcastic tone, before shifting her attention to the swings. “Max, aren’t you a little big for that swing?” she said offhandedly as she turned to go back inside.

Max instantly jolted off the swing. “S-sorry.” He ducked behind Clint who had puffed up and started forward with balled up fists, face quickly turning red with anger. 

Britton intervened quickly, stepping in front of Clint and turning him around to face Max instead of Angela, but addressing Max first. “Max, you’re okay.” He spoke quietly, just to the two upset boys in front of him. “There’s no reason to be sorry. You know you can be on the swings whenever you want. You are not too big to be on them. I promise.” He waited until Max could look him in the eye and nod an acceptance of the words before addressing Clint who had his mouth open ready to set loose his wrath. “Ah. I know, Clint. I know and you know. But she doesn’t know. She doesn’t know his story, she doesn’t know our rules, she doesn’t even know how to open the door that’s been there since she grew up in this house.” That got a reluctant grin out of Clint and a giggle out of Max. “I appreciate you wanting to stand up for Max and I know he does too, but not everything has to be a fight, okay? Not with Angela, trust me, you will never win if you go in the ring with her while angry. So you let me deal with her for right now, and you take Max and go wash up for lunch.”

Clint nodded jerkily, still a little steamed up at his sister before motioning for Max to follow him back into the house. Britton sighed lightly as he watched them trek inside, before following. He found Angela in the kitchen adjusting the silverware on the napkins so that they were all lined up just so. He fought the urge to roll his eyes and fought even harder against the urge to ‘accidentally’ knock one of the forks out of alignment. “It’s an adult-sized set.”

“Hmm?” Angela asked distractedly, only looking up after she ensured the knife was centered perfectly on the napkin.

“We bought that set with the specific thought that adults would be on it too. I have friends with little kids that come over and they enjoy playing on the swing set with their parents. Max is not too big for the set. He and Clint can do whatever they please. You have don’t have the right to say otherwise. That goes for anything in this house.”

Angela blinked at the sudden ferocity from her usually placid brother. “I don’t understand why you are all worked up about this, but fine. Whatever you wish.”

Max and Clint came to sit at the table in their normal spots; across from each other. Clint was less red but still with a tense jaw and Max was still pale and refused to look up from the table. Clint immediately noticed something was wrong. “Where’s Max’s plate? Actually, why isn’t there a setting in Max’s spot? More proof you’re getting old, Britton!”

“Actually, smart alec, I didn’t set the table. I’m sure Angela just forgot.” 

“I thought this was going to be a family dinner,” Angela remarked as she pulled out a chair to sit.

The three men looked puzzled. “This...is a family dinner.” Clint almost made the statement a question in his absolute confusion.

Angela just raised her eyebrows and looked pointedly at Max. “Oh. Oh. Yeah. I’ll just…” Max stood up quickly, accidentally knocking his chair to the floor. He flushed, embarrassed, and started shaking. “Sorry! I’m sorry!” He turned to pick up his chair but tripped over it in his haste. Everything in the kitchen seemed to stop for several seconds before Max scrambled from his sprawled position on the floor and practically ran for his room. He was careful not to slam the door, (that was a big no-no in their house; Daddy had taken Uncle Clint’s door away the last time it was slammed) but it was not a quiet closing by any means. Max grabbed his blanket and pacifier from his bed and then crawled into his closet and curled up in the back corner, trying his hardest not to cry.

\----

Britton and Clint flinched at the sound of the bedroom door closing. They both knew Max usually tried very hard to close his door as quietly as possible. Angela, however, was not affected by it at all. She grabbed the bowl of fresh salad greens and placed some on her plate before remarking, “He’s just not the most graceful dancer in the class, is he?” She smiled at her joke, before looking up from her salad and realizing that her brothers were staring at her. “What?” she asked innocently.

“What! What! You’re going to just sit there eating your stupid salad and ask what?” Clint shoved his chair back from the table, making it scrape harshly across the floor.

“Clint, go.”

“Me? But, Britt, she’s the--”

“Go.” Britton’s stern tone left no room for arguments, and Clint twitched towards the door before bucking up and standing strong. Britton softened a little, understanding that he was dealing with a protective Uncle Clint now. “Make sure he’s okay and didn’t hurt himself when he tripped on the chair please.”

Clint’s eyes flashed angrily at the person that had caused Max to potentially be injured before turning and heading towards the bedrooms.

“You really shouldn’t let him talk to you that way. You’re just asking for trouble.”

“Angela! For the last time, Clint is an adult! I raised him how I thought he needed to be raised and I think I did a pretty good job! I don’t care if you disagree with that. You weren’t here. You had no time for us, and now you get no say!” 

“That’s not my fault!” Angela slammed her hands on the table. “I was just starting my career! There’s no way I could have gotten to where I am in the company now if I’d have taken the time to come home as much as you wanted me too! I nearly lost my job as it was, coming back for these visits!”

Britton remained seated in his spot at the table, not rising to Angela’s bait to have a screaming match. “Tough. I was putting myself through college. Which I managed to do and raise a traumatized ten-year-old. I have a wonderful relationship with my little brother and that’s all because I saw him more than once a year when it was convenient. Actually, I feel sorry for you.”

“You feel sorry for me?” Angela scoffed. “No, I feel sorry for you Britton. You threw away everything. You could have been so much more than a work from home computer artist or whatever it is you do. You were on track to being a lawyer. A lawyer! And you just gave it up! I offered to help pay for a boarding school for Clinton. You could have achieved your goals, your dreams, and he would have been taken care of.”

Britton just laughed. “It’s funny that you thought my dream was to be a lawyer! Apparently, your lack of attention to us started way before your career did. I hated law, Angela. Hated it! I found my dream in graphic design, and spending time with Clint and later on, with Max. I have no regrets for how I’ve lived my life, how I’ve spent my time. I got to watch a child transform into a man right in front of me. A man that I am proud to know. A man who stands up for other people that are being wronged, even if the abuser is his own sister.” Angela looked affronted by this statement. “Max is family, Angela. He lives here. We take care of him. He takes care of us. Family. I had already told you once today to leave him and Clint alone. Clint has done a great job of taking care of him today since you’ve shown up and now it’s my turn. You need to leave.”

Angela’s mouth opened and closed several times before she could manage to get words out. “You’re kidding. I traveled all this way for you, for family dinner, and now you’re telling me to leave?”

“Yes. Here’s money for you to pick up lunch on your way back to the hotel.” Britton pulled two twenties out of his wallet and calmly handed them to his sister.

She snatched them out of his hand before gathering her things and heading out the door. “You’re ridiculous, Britton. Someday you’ll wake up and realize I was right all along.”

“I’m okay with being ridiculous if it means I’m happy. That we’re happy. Have a safe trip, Angela.” Britton closed the door softly behind her and turned back towards the kitchen. He smiled when he saw two sets of eyes peeking around the corner of the doorway leading into the living room.

“Is she gone?” Clint asked.

“Yep!” Britton locked the door and then moved toward the two distraught boys that came tumbling into the kitchen. Max was dragging his blanket behind him and Clint handed him a pacifier. The three met in the middle of the room and Max latched on to Britton tightly with one hand, looping his blanket hand around Clint’s neck and pulled them in for a tight squeeze. “How long were you guys standing there?”

“Long enough to know that I have the best big brother in the world,” Clint said squeezing Britton a little extra.

Max pulled the pacifier out and bounced in place a little. “And I have the best Daddy and Uncle Clint in the world!”

Britton laughed and pulled the two in tighter. “I have the best family in the world. What does the best family say to ordering a pizza and having a movie afternoon?”

Both boys cheered excitedly and took off to claim the best seat in the living room. Britton laughed while getting his cellphone out. “You’re truly missing out on something wonderful, Angela.”

**Author's Note:**

> I never know how to tag these so if you think there's something I should tag, let me know!


End file.
